Early voting is up across Indiana ahead of the 2026 midterm

With week from the 2026 midterm election day, people across the state submitted 476,802 ballots.

That’s 61,345 more than the 415,547 ballots cast at the same point before the 2022 midterm election.

In-person early voting saw a roughly one-third increase. People cast 296,792 early in-person ballots at this time in 2022. This year, people submitted 405,786 early ballots by the same time.

Mail-in voting went down, from one midterm to the next, by over 43%. At this time in 2022, people mailed 113,808 ballots. This year, people have mailed 64,721.

Read More: Muncie voting advocates gather to encourage more turnout

As Indiana gets closer to election day voting on November 3, several counties are bracing for the arrival of federal election monitors.

Up to 12 are expected to come to central Indiana’s Marion County, with another dozen going to Lake County near Chicago — heavily blue areas that host the state’s only Democratic representatives in Congress.

Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell said the observers will remain at least 50 feet from the entrance to the polls, just like people passing out campaign literature.

“Their default position is to remain outside and not enter the voting location unless state law otherwise permits their entry. In our agency’s view, our state law does not give federal monitors access to enter any voting location,” an Indiana Election Division official said.

Early voting in Indiana continues through Monday at noon.  On Tuesday, November 3, polls are open from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM local time.

The Indiana Capital Chronicle contributed to this report.

Contact WFYI Digital Producer and Reporter Jeremy Reuben at jreuben@wfyi.org